TOP HEADLINES
Highlights from Gov. Mary Fallin’s State of the State address:
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin today began the first regular session of the 56th Oklahoma Legislature with her annual State of the State address to both the House and Senate. In her nearly 30-minute presentation, Fallin outlined her goals and priorities for the state budget which has a nearly $900 million hole. Below, find key highlights of Fallin’s proposals for the budget [OKAgPolicy].
Governor’s budget offsets cuts with taxes on services, gas, tobacco, wind electricity generation:
Gov. Mary Fallin waved a big carrot at the Oklahoma Legislature during her State of the State address on Monday — eliminating the state sales tax on groceries [Tulsa World].
STATE
A closer look at the budget:
Gov. Mary Fallin proposed a complex array of tax increase and tax cut proposals Monday as the 2017 legislative session officially got underway [NewsOK].
Gov. Mary Fallin proposes tax on Oklahoma wind production:
In her executive budget, Fallin proposed a 0.5 cent per kilowatt hour tax on electricity from wind generation. She also wants to sunset existing tax incentives for the wind industry earlier than planned [The Oklahoman].
Legislature 101: Numbers you should know:
A lot of numbers are being thrown around this time of year with the Oklahoma Legislature going into session for 2017. Here are some of the numbers we think you should know [Tulsa World].
Resume roll call: Oklahoma legislators bring varied resumes to Capitol:
They are ranchers, bankers and pizza makers. Firefighters and funeral directors. Businesswomen and businessmen. Teachers and preachers. All of them are Oklahoma state legislators [The Oklahoman].
FEDERAL
Congress begins to evaluate infrastructure needs, Senate EPW to hold hearing this week:
Though it has become increasingly clear that Congress will not act on a broad infrastructure bill in the first 100 days of the new administration, Congress has begun to consider what issues and investments they will prioritize in an infrastructure bill by holding hearings in both the House and Senate [National Law Review].
Heitkamp first Democratic senator to support Trump’s Agriculture Secretary nominee:
“I look forward to confirming [Perdue] to this important post and working with him to get results for North Dakota farmers and ranchers,” Heitkamp said in a statement after meeting with the nominee Monday [Daily Caller].
Global warming skeptic Lamar Smith sets “Make EPA Great Again” hearing:
Invigorated by the new climate change-doubting presidential administration, a Texas congressman known for his ardent skepticism of manmade global warming has scheduled a committee hearing today “to examine the Environmental Protection Agency’s process for evaluating and using science during its regulatory decision making activities” [Texas Tribune].
New GIPSA rule delayed for two months:
The effective date for a new Agriculture Department rule that sets standards of proof for market practices in the livestock and poultry industry has been delayed two months until April 22 [Agri-Pulse].
